People wanting to know more about climate change should dust off their best crockery and polish their cutlery, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today.
It follows revelations in Senate Budget Estimates late yesterday that ‘kitchen table discussions’ are to be held as part of a $6 million program of sponsorships and partnerships within the Government’s $14 million climate change Foundation Campaign.
Climate Change departmental officials have explained that the smaller, more intimate discussions they will fund are designed to complement the larger scale town hall forums staged by the multi-million dollar Climate Commission.
Under questioning from Senator Birmingham, the Department has revealed it is currently negotiating contracts with organisations to trial the ‘kitchen table discussions’.
“The saying used to be ‘if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen’ but that’s exactly where the Department wants us discussing the issues of global warming and climate change,” Senator Birmingham said today.
“There might be knives out for Julia Gillard following her carbon tax broken promises, but at least some of them might now be buttering scones for climate change discussions.
“Why cook up a storm in the kitchen when you can get actual climate change on the table with a carbon tax for the main course?
“If Julia Gillard actually listened to Australians, she would realise that most kitchen tables have already delivered their verdict on her carbon tax, declaring it utterly unpalatable.
“Both the carbon tax and this latest wasteful spending should be finding their way straight to the rubbish bin, not being force fed to taxpayers at their own expense.”